Fated Hearts (Echoes of Darkness Prequel)

10

Ava

A few minutes pass before Tony slides onto the bar stool Marnie vacated. He heaves out a deep sigh and places his tray on top of the bar. “Thank God you got the job. I don’t know how much more Rita and I could take,” he says, referring to the other server, a woman in her late forties whose blond ponytail swishes against her back as she walks out of a door.

“Okay, so the kitchen is through that door Rita came from. Marnie’s husband, Dave, is the cook. The food menu is limited. We only serve bar grub, French fries, wings, and stuff like that. You’ll learn it in no time.” He lifts his hand in the air, catching Emily’s eye. She comes over after a few seconds. “Em, can you pour two glasses of that fancy whiskey you keep only for your brother’s friends?”

“Logan’s here too?” she asks as she takes a bottle from the shelf behind her. Dumping some ice into two whiskey tumblers, she pours the spirit over it.

So now I have a name to go with the mysterious stranger…Logan. Even his name is hot, and it definitely suits him.

“Yeah, and all of his delicious-looking friends,” Tony replies, fanning himself with a dreamy look in his eyes. “What I would let those men do to me. Too bad none of them are gay,” he sighs while he stands, takes two beers from the fridge, and places them on top of another tray.

“Look alive, buttercup. Prepare yourself because we’re going to serve the hottest men alive. You’ll take the beers, and I’ll take the whiskey,” Tony tells me as he lifts the tumblers, positions them on top of his tray, and saunters toward the private booths in the back, expertly slicing through the crowd. I follow closely while holding the tray with the beer bottles.

As we approach their table, my stomach constricts, and my hands suddenly become clammy and start trembling. I almost drop the tray. Pull it together, Ava! Tony is taller than me, and I can’t see much besides the back of his head. But, when he moves a little to the side, I swallow hard, not prepared to be hit full force with the raw, sexual energy every single one of them exudes.

Is there something in the water here? How can all of them be this level of hot?

My heart flip-flops inside my chest the moment my eyes land on Logan. All of them are tall and built like some sort of Greek gods, but Logan is the tallest and the Zeus of the group. His big frame dwarfs the others, which is saying a lot because none of them are small men. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise when I realize the guy with blue-green eyes, the one dressed in the expensive-looking suit who threatened the frat boys earlier, is sitting beside Logan at his right, near the wall.

Across suit guy is another ridiculously attractive man with dark eyes and inky black hair that is pulled in a short ponytail, a few strands framing his face. He is decked in black jeans and a black tee, intricate tattoos covering every inch of available skin on his arms. Even his throat and knuckles are tattooed. He wears his arrogance like a dark cloak. But there is also something else about him…something dark and dangerous, sending a shiver down my spine in awareness.

Next to him, in front of Logan, is a guy with such exotic features I can’t quite place from where he is. He has high cheekbones and upturned eyes that look almost cat-like. A septum piercing dangles from his nose, and his long hair, the color of lively silver, reminds me of moonlight slanting through a window.

They are all talking low with grim expressions on their faces. Only the tattooed guy, who seems the most dangerous, keeps stealing furtive glances toward the bar as his white-knuckled fingers tighten on the empty whiskey tumbler, anger flashing in his eyes like lightning. His grip is so strong I’m afraid he will shatter the glass any second . They all stop talking the moment we reach their table. Not like I could even decipher what they were saying, which is weird since I can hear much better now after the surgery.

“Here you go, gentlemen,” Tony says with a flourish, replacing suit guy and tattooed guy’s two empty glasses of whiskey with the full ones. He steps to the side so I can come closer to the table.

Immediately, I feel Logan’s gaze on me like a hot brand to the face, but I can’t look his way. I’m afraid I’m going to drop the tray if I do.

“Ava, you work here?” Suit guy asks as I bend to place the beer in front of the silver-haired guy. A glint of animalistic hunger shines in his eyes as they slowly rake over my face and land on my neck. They stop on the fluttering vein on the side of my throat for a few seconds before his gaze snaps back to mine. “If I knew, I would have come here more often,” he says charmingly with a wink.

I clear my throat loudly, feeling flustered at the attention he is showing me. “I just started tonight. I’m sorry I didn’t quite catch your name earlier,” I reply with a smile.

“It’s Dominic,” Silver hair answers for his friend with a shit-eating grin as he looks at Logan. “I’m Malik; that right there is Kaiden,” he says, pointing with his thumb at the tattooed guy who isn’t paying any attention. His gaze is still fixated on one of the tables near the bar with flared nostrils. Silver hair juts his chin in front of him. “And this angry furball here is Logan.”

“Nice to meet you guys. I’m Ava,” I murmur.

Tony is standing next to me, a big smile on his face, his eyes volleying between us. He looks like all he misses now is a big bowl of popcorn. Turning toward Logan, I finally let my hungry gaze rake over him. There’s a stiffness in his shoulders. Even weirder, anger radiates from him in waves as a muscle ticks along his jaw.

I lift the beer bottle from the tray with trembling fingers, but as I bend to place it in front of Logan on the table, my high heel gets trapped in between the floorboards. In the next second, I fly forward into the side of the table and hit my pelvic bone, spilling the beer all over Logan’s lap.

“Oh my God!” I exclaim and immediately straighten. Dislodging the high heel, I hastily pluck all the napkins from the holder. The pain pulsing throughout my pelvis makes my teeth grind. Motherfucking fuck, it hurts, but not as bad as the embarrassment I feel at this moment. I wish the floor would open and swallow me alive.

“I’ll bring more napkins,” Tony says with urgency as he scurries away.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumble, bend over Logan, and press the napkins on top of his crotch. His intoxicating smell wraps around me in a dizzying spell. I gasp when I feel his massive erection digging into the palm of my hand. Scorching fire takes over my entire body, making my core pulse with need.

What the hell is happening to me?

All of a sudden, he grabs my wrist, stopping my movement. “Enough,” he snaps in a voice so thick and raw I freeze and stare back into his eyes that feel like two pieces of hot coals. My pulse quickens as I feel everything around us fade again, until Logan swears loudly under his breath and lets go of my wrist as if I’m radioactive.

I shake my head and blink a few times, attempting to clear my mind, not understanding the deep connection I feel to this guy I just met and why I got so aroused at a mere touch. “I’ll bring you a fresh bottle.” I offer a small smile. My face is probably ten shades of red at this moment since I feel my cheeks burning fiercely.

“There’s no need. You’ve done enough. Just leave,” Logan says coldly, his voice chilling me to the bone.

I recoil as if he slapped me, back rod straight. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I’ll ask Tony to bring you another, then.” I turn on my heel, desperate to get as far away from him as possible, the room hazy through the curtain of unshed tears.

“Sorry! He doesn’t get out much,” Malik yells at my back as I make a beeline for the bathroom hallway. I shove my way through the sweaty bodies crowding the bar, needing a few moments to compose myself before going back to shadowing Tony for the rest of the night.

Fisting my fingers at my sides, I take a few deep breaths in. A failed attempt to calm my racing heart, really. All I want to do is go home and curl into a ball. I don’t understand the visceral reaction I have toward that asshole, but I can’t let him ruin my first day at work. I need this job. I just have to stay away from that section for the rest of the night and let Tony handle it alone. Hopefully, he will understand.